|
TWU
Home > Student
Life > Athletics > Softball > 3/12/08
TWU STUNS UNT 5-4
TWU 5, UNT 4 - Box Score
 DENTON, Texas (March 12) – The combination of a strong pitching performance from sophomore Carly Case and an opportunistic offensive attack helped the Texas Woman’s University Pioneers to a shocking 5-4 win over the University of North Texas Mean Green on Wednesday night at Lovelace Stadium in Denton.
Case (pictured), a transfer from Western Texas College, scattered nine hits in a full seven innings of work to pick up her sixth win of the season in the circle for TWU. The Bowie, Texas native kept the Mean Green off balance for the majority of the game by keeping the ball down in the strike zone and changing speeds.
“Carly threw a great game,” said TWU assistant coach Kristin Minton. “She was precise with her location and did a good job of mixing things up.”
Neither team was able to score in the first two innings of play. In the top of the third, the Pioneers used a base hit and a UNT error to push the first run of the game across the plate. Junior centerfielder Tiffanie Boone started things off for TWU when she blasted a frozen rope line drive off the centerfield wall (just missing a home run) for a hard-hit single. After being sacrificed to second, Boone scored when UNT senior left fielder Lauren Bergstrom misplayed a routine fly ball off the bat of TWU left fielder Billie Callahan.
The TWU lead would be brief, as UNT tied the game at one when their lead off hitter in the bottom of the third, freshman centerfielder Mariza Martinez, drilled her fourth home run of the season to left center field.
To her credit, Case did not allow the Martinez long ball to rattle her. She worked her way out of the third inning and then held UNT scoreless in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
In the top of the fifth, the Pioneers took advantage of more shoddy UNT defense to move back in front. Singles by Boone and junior designated hitter Kayla Behrle, followed by a sac bunt from freshman second basemen Hayley Siebman, put TWU runners on second and third with two outs. Callahan then hit a ground ball that UNT senior shortstop Katya Muller couldn’t handle. Boone and Behrle, hustling all the way on the play, streaked home to give TWU a 3-1 lead.
RBI singles by junior catcher Amber Brooks and senior third baseman Meagan Peiser in the top of the sixth and seventh innings respectively would put the Pioneers up 5-1 headed to the bottom of the seventh inning.
Case struck out a UNT pinch hitter, junior infielder Katie Platt, to open the final frame. Back-to-back singles by Muller and Martinez, however, gave the Mean Green runners on first and second base. UNT freshman designated hitter Mallory Cantler then smacked a three-run homer over the left centerfield wall that pulled the home team to within a run, 5-4. Case, however, dashed any hopes the Mean Green had of a comeback by coaxing the next two UNT batters into lazy fly ball outs.
“She got the outs when she needed to,” said Minton of Case’s work in the last inning. “It would have been really easy to fold in that situation, but she showed some mental toughness and stepped up for us.”
Wednesday night’s contest was the first-ever regular season softball game between TWU (8-22) and UNT (9-15). The narrow victory by the Pioneers was their first win over an NCAA Division I opponent since April 19, 2000, when they swept a doubleheader at UT-Arlington.
“No doubt about it, this is a huge step forward for this team and this program,” said Minton. “We’ve had some tough breaks so far this season, but, to our girls’ credit, they’ve stayed positive and continued to work hard. This win should give us a ton of confidence for the remainder of the season.”
The Pioneers have less than 24 hours to savor their victory over UNT as they are scheduled to return to action on Thursday, March 13, when they host Southeastern Oklahoma State University at Pioneer Field in an evening doubleheader slated to begin at 5:00 p.m.
|
